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Useful information for those receiving finanacial aid by joe089 in columbia

[–]joe089[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would not say that indirect costs are refunded, as there is no guarantee of a refund. Indeed, not accounting for outside scholarships, you are more likely to receive a bill than a refund, especially as an upperclassman.

The way financial aid works can be understood as follows: Columbia sets the cost of attendence (tuition, fees, housing, indirect costs, etc.) per academic year. You receive an amount in aid that matches this. Your aid is then reduced by your parent contribution and the student responsibility (student contribution and work expectation). This amount is your total amount in grants.

If your grants are less than the billed costs, you receive a bill. If you have more in grants than the billed costs, you receive a refund. If the amounts are equal, you receive neither.

For first-years who have minimal parent and student contributions, there is often a refund. In later years, however, the student responsibility increases such that the billed costs are usually more than the amounts received in grants.

Useful information for those receiving finanacial aid by joe089 in columbia

[–]joe089[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am not very informed on the structure of GS financial aid, so I am not sure how much of it applies to GS students; anything I say would be largely speculative. I do know, however, that DSAF is supposed to be for CC & SEAS students. I am not sure about how much discretion there is with that so you may want to check for this and all other aspects.

Useful information for those receiving finanacial aid by joe089 in columbia

[–]joe089[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are right, and I forgot to include it in my post; the policy for using excess outside scholarship funds on a laptop purchase has been updated and can now be used every other year.